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Central Otago Travel Blogs

Background: The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.

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By JessRK
May 4th 2009

Grapes, Grapes and some more Grapes! Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago

Yay! In Cromwell, almost all the streets are Irish counties. And then this one!

I know it's been forever since I've put a blog up! A month to be exact, but we've been super busy and it's been difficult to find time for computers :) Here are the panoramics for this blog :) Panoramic 1 Panoramic 2 Panoramic 3 Panoramic 4 [url=http://img91.images [View Full Entry]

By Rich Ard
February 15th 2009

Summer Lovin' Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago

Waders

Hi-Di-Hi campers! I guess you guys will all be either fighting off frost bite, fanning back flames or trying to survive the recession so what better way to cheer you up then a gloating blog from your friends in paradise. We will do our best not to sound too smug, promise ;-) Seriously though, we do hope you are all ok. Sounds a little like the world is falling apart out there, anyone who wants to run away is welcome to come stay with us! Life down here has been pretty good. Christmas and New Year was VERY busy at work [View Full Entry]

By BandW Rider
February 9th 2009

ALEXANDRA / OTAGO PENINSULA / OAMARU Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago

Da kommt Freude auf...

ALEXANDRA /OTAGO PENINSULA OAMARU Die Biker Rallye in Alexandra war ein ganz netter Anlass. Am Freitag angekommen, es war übrigens Feiertag, habe ich noch nicht mal das Zelt aufschlagen können, schon wurde mein Baby bewundert. Die Typen haben da grosse Augen gemacht. (Also nicht das Baby hier aufm Bild... Das würd mir auch noch gefallen... Ne ich sprech immer noch von meiner BMW R1150GS Adventure) Die Kiwis haben wirklich gestaunt, als ich denen erzählt hab, was das so für n Bike ist was ich damit schon so gemacht habe und was noch kommen wird. Es hatte sicherlilch einige BMW aufm [View Full Entry]

By batiki
January 19th 2009

New Zealanders are Wonderful Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago

Views of hillside

Hello Everyone, We stopped twice on the way to Christchurch from Milford Sound. In Cromwell, we stayed in a Motel. It was wonderful. A whole kitchenette to ourselves. The next day we were hiking a around in a historic mining field and we talked to a family from New Zealand about the plants and animals. When we got to the top of the trail we took a different way down and were very far from our car and we walked and walked and walked. But this family came to our rescure and gave us a ride to our car. They saw [View Full Entry]

By Sheeptours
February 5th 2008

Cycling the Otago Central Rail Trail Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago

...and the railway today

Day 99: Dunedin to Middlemarch to Ranfurly. The first 60km through the Central Otago Goldfields I arrived at Dunedin's impressive railway station at nine this morning ready to catch a train along the Taieri Gorge Railway. Unfortunately the train wasn't a steam engine as I'd hoped (only to make my dad jealous, to be honest, I wasn't so bothered so long as I got to see the scenery and reached the end of the line in one piece). Having climbed aboard one of the old wooden carriages and found my seat, it was a short wait before we started slowly moving [View Full Entry]

By Bill Carol
April 11th 2007

Startlng out on the South Island: First it's Otago Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago

Silver Morning in the Catlins

We had heard the refrain over and over from North Islanders: "If you think the North Island is beautiful, the South Island is gonna knock your socks off!" So, as we made 6-hour trip by ferry from Wellington (last stop on the North Island) then 3 hours more by coastal train to Christchurch, we were eager to see what awaited us in the wilder, more remote South Island. The first trick was to settle into the rented campervan that was waiting for us. The van, a 2-berth diesel VW with standard transmission, is not one of those behemoth motor homes [View Full Entry]

By T L
October 2nd 2006

The Rail Trail Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago

On The Trail Together

The idea to cycle the Otago Central Rail Trail came straight out of the Rough Guide - a 150Km, 3-day bike ride from Clyde to Middlemarch, really appealed. Originally the Otago Central Branch Railway was built (completed in 1921) to support the gold rush in the valleys of Otago, transporting important supplies to the then booming towns along the way. As its demand became less important and road regulations changed the line became uneconomical to run and was closed down. The DOC bought the disused line seeing its recreational potential and created the rail trail for all to enjoy. It is [View Full Entry]

By chlaa
March 15th 2006

Picking Pears Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago

Sam's Excellent Picking Technique

Having secured a job pear picking on Lammerview Orchard, Ettrick. We turned up the afternoon before & met Judith who showed us the openfire bungalow where we would be staying & the two girls we were sharing it with, Eva from Wales & Nicole from Holland. We were given a free run of the property which included a swimming pool, herb garden & acres of pear & apple trees & were given loads of fresh fruit & veggies to cook with. The morning started at 8:30 when Alistair came round to the house with Ram a Nepalese ex-policeman who was also [View Full Entry]

By Surya and Melissa
March 10th 2006

In Search of The Penguins Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago

Larnach Castle

With our last few days in New Zealand, we took our car down the south east coast to the otago peninsula. The journey had one purpose (in my mind)- to see as many penguins, albatross, sea lions, and fur seals as possible. Well, the dream came true, and we were psyched to be up close, seeing these amazing sea mammals and birds in nature. We stayed at a place called Larnach Castle, which the locals say is more of a big house, but the only castle new zealand has. It was built in 1871 by william larnach, a wealthy merchant who [View Full Entry]

View of the lighthouse at the Tip of Otago Peninsula

By kathleen
February 27th 2006

Through Central Otago gold country Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago

State Highway 8

After completing my last written travelblog entry, waving at the webcam pointing to the statue of Robert Burns, and strolling the market stalls lining the streets of the Octogan, I left Dunedin on a sunny late February afternoon for a long journey to the West Coast. I drove south initially on State Highway 1, past Mosgiel to join State Highway 8 at the intersection at Clarkesville. The road runs through scattered gold-rush towns, where, from the 1860's to the end of the century, gold was panned from the streambeds, dredged from the deeper rivers, and eventually mined and blasted from the [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago